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Memo Pad: Fresh Jane… View From The Top… Fashion Forward…

In her editor's letter in the April Jane, Brandon Holley cautioned her readers not to "get all up in arms about the changes you're gonna see in this issue," because they were spurred by some "forward, smart and insightful" feedback from readers.

FRESH JANE: In her editor’s letter in the April Jane, Brandon Holley cautioned her readers not to “get all up in arms about the changes you’re gonna see in this issue,” because they were spurred by some “forward, smart and insightful” feedback from readers. So what are these changes, exactly? After all, the magazine was redesigned in March 2006 by Paul Ritter, who left to freelance and recently followed his former Vitals boss Joe Zee to Elle.

Starting with this issue, Jane has gotten another look from downtown design firm Helicopter, with a new set of fonts and layout. New hire Jeff Glendenning, formerly of The New York Times Magazine, will serve as design director starting with the May issue. Recent months also have seen some content changes that Holley, in an interview, attributed to the natural evolution of a magazine: The Psych section, for example, has been replaced with a single-issue Jane Guide, and the front-of-the-book Dish section was renamed The List in February.

“I can now say beyond any doubt that you want us to feature fewer Hollywood bimbos and more intelligent, independent women,” she also wrote in the letter. But Holley said she had been referring to reader reactions to a cover that wasn’t on her watch, and said her letter was not inconsistent with ratcheting up the level of celebrity on Jane’s covers, which she promised would continue. As for the newsstand drops of the last year — 14.8 percent in the first half of 2006, 20.4 percent in the second — Holley pointed to the newsstand price being raised back from the bargain $1.99 of early 2005 to its current $2.99. As to those pesky rumors that the magazine’s future is in question, Holley dismissed them outright, noting that parent company Condé Nast (which also owns WWD) is investing in Jane and will add major applications to its Web site. She added that a TV deal is also in development. — Irin Carmon

VIEW FROM THE TOP: For those wondering if the cover of Portfolio will show the face of a major interview “get” for the business magazine launch, the current speculation will disappoint. The cover that numerous staffers report seeing is of an overhead shot of New York buildings at night, a shot that, if final, will have to last on the newsstands until the next issue in September. A spokeswoman for the magazine declined to discuss the cover. The first issue of Portfolio will hit newsstands April 16. — I.C.

FASHION FORWARD: Beginning this month, the San Francisco Chronicle is providing all fashionistas — yes, the Bay Area does have them — with a monthly lifestyle guide that includes a heavy dose of fashion. Anastasia Hendrix, editor of the glossy called SFiS, said the timing reflects the “emergence of fashion in the Bay Area.” She pointed to the growing number of stores popping up, including H&M, Zara and Barneys New York, which is coming soon.

Prior to the April issue, the glossy was published bimonthly. In addition to fashion, it covers high-society events, home decor, food features and luxury vehicles. And SFiS has less competition for those luxury ad dollars now that PaperCity magazine shuttered its San Francisco edition after the December issue. Hendrix said advertising is growing and counts for approximately half of the April issue. — Amy Wicks

IN PLACE: Travel + Leisure editor in chief Nancy Novogrod has added novelist Dani Shapiro to her stable of contributing editors. Shapiro, whose novel, “Black & White,” is being released this week and whose memoir, “Slow Motion,” was a bestseller, will write and produce the My Favorite Place column. — I.C.

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